How often have you been accused of using these words?
English keeps evolving. Why then are you still using these overused words?
1. So
Lost track of the number of times you use the word 'so' in a day? So have we!
So, I think I'll travel by car to work.
So, my mother made chicken curry for lunch.
So, we are going to Kerala in October.
So, it's time to head home.
Don't you think a conversation would be more lively if you STOPPED peppering your speech with 'so'?
It has been used soooo often that it doesn't make sense anymore.
We suggest the next time you say something, AVOID using 'so' as a filler... because removing 'so' from the start of a sentence doesn't really change its meaning.
2. What's up/Wassup
Gone are the times when people greeted each other with 'hi' and 'hello'.
Today we only hear people using 'what's up' -- which at one point was used only during chatting and texting.
We have all used it at some point.
With time, it has become meaningless due to overuse.
It is funny how people greet each other nowadays:
Rakesh: Hi Amit! What's up?
Amit: Hi what's up?
Well, what's up stands for what's up with you.
So the next time someone greets you with a 'what's up,' at least give them a proper reply.
For example:
Rakesh: Hi Amit! What's up?
Amit: I'm at work. What about you?
3. Cool
Everything is so 'cool' nowadays.
Here's a conversation between friends:
Kush: How are you?
Lekha: Cool
Kush: You want to watch a movie?
Lekha: Cool
Kush: Ok, let's go.
Lekha: Cool
It's used when you speak of something that is awesome.
But it is also being used instead of 'ok'.
Now that's confusing.
We think 'cool' is soon becoming the word to use when you don't know what to say or you are not really interested in a conversation.
4. Adorable
Every picture on Facebook is so 'adorable.'
Post a childhood pic, and people will comment, 'It is adorable.'
Upload your pic and friends will say, 'You look so adorable.'
They even find a picture of your new bag adorable. And your pets are the most adorable animals on the planet.
Oh! But then your mother is adorable too...and so is your hubby who surprised you on your birthday.
We have noticed that a lot of people say something is adorable, but rarely do they mean it with earnest intent.
We're already fed up of hearing 'adorable.'
Suggested replacements: Cute... stunning... attractive, etc.
5. LOL (laughing out loud)
Stop using LOL, especially when you are saying something that is not funny.
For example:
I just saw my mother surfing the net LOL
What are you wearing LOL
You are late LOL
Instagram notes LOL has been used 24,989,254 times in hash tags. Get the hint?
6. Foodie
We are confused. Can someone please tell us who a foodie really is?
Is it someone who loves food?
Or someone who loves to eat?
Or a person who knows what he is eating?
Or some bored, unimaginative person sitting in a restaurant, taking pics of french fries served with ketchup, uploading it and putting the hash tag #foodie...because he has eaten too much and can't think of new, creative hash tags?
'Foodie' has overstayed its welcome.
So much so that food journalist Paul Levy, who coined the word 'foodie', recently wondered 'what the word means today.' We are clueless too, Paul.
7. Awwwwww
Every time we hear awwwwww, it makes us cringe.
We can't tell you how annoying it is when the awwwwwwwwwwwwwww gets longer, especially when women see photographs of babies or pets.
The Urban Dictionary says it's a word used to describe what girls think are cute, adorable, sweet, sad or unexpected. Really?
Celebs love awwww (+ or - a few w's).
Every time a celeb sees a cute pooch, they go awwww, and that's probably every nano second!
8. Actually
When was the last time you started a conversation with actually?
For example:
Actually I am working now.
Actually my sister is not at home.
Actually we just moved in.
Or used actually in a sentence:
I actually think I should go home.
When they actually come home, I will tell him everything.
Well actually, I don't like this place.
We have heard it so many times that we don't want to hear it anymore. What about you?
9. Baby bump
Celebs have been flaunting their baby bumps on Twitter and Instagram so much that it's probably the trending word of 2016.
We suspect it is the most overused hash tag on Instagram and Twitter.
We can't take anymore baby bumps, seriously.
10. Seriously
When was the last time you said seriously and were actually serious about it?
Overused and often misused, many of us have forgotten what it means.
For example:
He was seriously (extremely) injured.
I seriously (earnestly) considered moving to Canada.
Smoking can seriously (gravely) affect your health.
She looked seriously (sternly, without a smile) at him.
Seriously is also used when you refer to something in disbelief or in a sarcastic way.
Seriously, you are kidding me, aren't you?
And nowadays, it is attached to everything people say.
For example:
Seriously! What are you saying? Is the patient so seriously injured that he seriously needs to be taken to the hospital?
Confusing, right?
Photograph: Ralph D Freso/Reuters *pic used for representational purposes only
